Lunch Date
by shutupgreenberg
Summary: Derek knows he has to tell Jennifer the truth about the supernatural creatures she keeps encountering. He grits his fangs—sorry, teeth—and has a much-needed conversation with his pack's new English teacher. Post 3x07/3x08. Dennifer one shot.


Derek knew he should've been putting distance between himself and Jennifer, especially now that he had murdered a member of his own pack in front of her, but when he received her voicemail asking to meet her for lunch, he just couldn't ignore it.

Not five minutes after he'd gotten the message, Derek headed to the bathroom to take his first shower in a few days. He hadn't spoken to Jennifer since the incident with Kali and the twins at the loft, so he tried to plan what their impending conversation would consist of to plan some answers in advance. Should he tell the teacher what he was? Should he wait until she brings it up? He was getting more and more anxious to meet her. When the water in the shower grew cold, he knew it was time to grit his fangs—sorry, teeth—and face the issue between him and Jennifer. For all the crap that was swirling around him, all the homicidal maniacs thirsting for his death, it was probably the worst time to consider starting a relationship with someone. Still, he hadn't felt this much affection for someone since his doomed teen love Paige, and he knew deep down that he and Jennifer had the potential to share something much stronger than melodramatic puppy love (whoops, another dog reference).

The drive to Beacon Hills high school was far shorter than Derek would've liked. He was unsettled by his heart beating faster and louder than usual, the way it would in the midst of bringing down prey or beginning a fight against a fearsome adversary. This situation wasn't like those; he wasn't reliant on adrenaline for a kill or in any physical danger. This was...this was a lunch date for god's sake. He needed to pull himself together.

Derek strode straight through the front doors of the school. _You'd think with a mythical serial killer running around, they'd at least lock the doors_, he thought. He assumed Jennifer would be in her room, eager to start their conversation, so he headed down a hallway toward the English classroom. Derek picked up on her heartbeat from a few hundred feet away. The steady beating that was slightly slower than average was becoming very familiar to him.

When he reached the doorway, he peeked through the glass pane and saw Jennifer was sitting slumped at her desk, head resting on her folded arms, shiny dark brown curls splayed out like a curtain in front of her face. If he hadn't the ability to detect injuries from a distinct, metallic scent of blood in the air, he'd have worried the teacher was hurt. He tried to knock as gently as an alpha werewolf could, but Jennifer still jumped when she heard the sound. She looked surprised for a moment, but then her reflection softened and she managed a tiny smile as he opened the door and steppe inside. The truth was she hadn't smiled genuinely since before she witnessed one of her students killed by Derek. It wasn't his fault, she knew, but the experience had left her shaken. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the terrifying creatures she finally decided were werewolves, but it was even more frightening than before.

"Hi," she squeaked, before clearing her throat and standing up. "Hello, Derek. Thanks for meeting me." She hated how formal her words sounded, but she knew there would be tension between them until they had the bizarre and awkward conversation about the hairy, fanged elephant in the room.

"Of course," Derek answered after a pause, feeling as strange as she did. "I can't—"

"I made you—"

The two had interrupted each other, and it was almost funny. They both gave uncomfortable laughs before Jennifer gestured to a chair beside her desk. They sat down and Derek suggested she go first.

"I was saying I made you a sandwich and grabbed an extra juice from the faculty room. We both know this conversation won't be pleasant, but who's to say we can't have a decent lunch?"

Derek nodded and took the plastic baggie she handed to him. He was amused to find it contained turkey and pepper jack on wheat, not the most popular sandwich combination. It may have been unusual, but it was his absolute favorite, and he knew he would have remembered if he shared that with Jennifer. Why would he have had reason to? He looked up at her questioningly. She was biting her lip and looked sweetly abashed, coloring rising to her cheeks.

"I can promise you I'm not a stalker, there's a good reason that I know your favorite sandwich. You…you talk in your sleep," she muttered before giggling and giving a real smile.

Derek was speechless for a few moments. No one in his life had ever treated him with real tenderness other than his mother, and he'd lost her long ago. The combination of that thoughtfulness, the—ah, hell with it—_cute_ look on her face, and the reminder of the physical closeness they'd shared confirmed what Derek had been mulling over that morning: He had to share what he was and the extent of the danger that followed him. And share he did.

Thankfully Derek had entered the school just as lunch was beginning, because he needed nearly all of the 35-minute lunch period to share his story in between bites of his delicious, personalized lunch. Jennifer listened with rapt attention, nodding respectfully when he shared the most private details and grabbing his arm anytime he described a stressful battle. With five minutes left before students would start streaming through the door, Derek finished his tale. Jennifer sat looking dazed, shaking her head slowly.

"Wow. No, wow doesn't even begin to describe that."

"I'm sorry," Derek said, though he didn't know why. He guessed he was sorry for involving her in the destructive saga that is his life. "There's nothing stable or safe about the way I live. You don't have to be around me anymore." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them and hoped she didn't accept that. But he knew he had to give her another chance to leave him behind and live the rest of her life safely removed from the happenings of Beacon Hill's resident supernatural creatures.

"I know," she said quietly. "But I still want to." Derek nearly beamed, but stifled the smile and lowered his head to hide it. "Obviously I'm scared, though," she continued, "and I'd like to do something about that. I wanted to give Ethan and Aiden detention for the rest of the year for snatching me—" Derek growled quietly at the thought "—but that's not adequate retribution, and anyway, as Ken Kesey wrote, 'The man who seeks revenge digs two graves.' I want a proper way to keep up with your world. I want to know how to defend myself from a bad…wolf."

"If that's really your choice, to stay with me," Derek began, "then I think that's an excellent idea."

Jennifer smiled and nodded. "Yes, it is. I'm ready."

"We can train today sometime after school, my place? I think Allison can help, and I'm sure she'd be willing to."

Derek included the history of the werewolf-hunting Argents in his story, leaving no detail untouched.

"That will work," said Jennifer as she walked toward the door. "See you then, Derek."

So much was accomplished today, and it turned out far better than Derek could have predicted, and he hoped the evening would go just as well. Right before he stepped out the door, he grabbed the handle and pulled it closed. Guiding Jennifer out of view of any annoyingly punctual students who left lunch early, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

He hadn't known it until now, but he really missed kissing her. He missed her soft lips, gently but decisively pressing back against his. Jennifer couldn't believe she hadn't spent more time reliving the night they slept together if those kisses were this good. Way too soon, a firm knock sounded on the door. They pair broke apart and Derek lead the way to the door, hoping he could scare whoever the scrawny teenager was who interrupted them. He swung open the door and scowled, ready to intimidate the intruder.

"Derek, visiting your girlfriend during school hours? Naughty," scoffed Isaac Lahey as he playfully pushed Derek out of the way to sit at his desk. The alpha rolled his eyes at his smug pack member and threw him a nasty comment about wolfsbane being shoved down someone's throat. Jennifer put a hand on Derek's shoulder and gave him a small push to the door.

"See you tonight. I think you should leave before the hall fills up with students," she said.

"Yeah," Derek agreed. "People around here, especially the twins, aren't exactly fond of me." He grasped her hand and gently squeezed, giving her a content look. Isaac catcalled and chuckled loudly. Derek let Jennifer's hand go and showed Isaac his middle finger. The younger werewolf was still laughing as Derek stomped out of the classroom.

"Dreamy, isn't he?" Isaac said when he managed to stop laughing. Although he helped save her during the alpha pack's loft invasion, and she knew he was a good-hearted, albeit currently annoying kid, Jennifer threw him the best "angry teacher" glare she could muster.


End file.
